The Lord will no more cast off the humblest, lowliest believer in Jesus than he will demolish his throne. We are accepted in the Beloved. We are members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. {ST, June 6, 1895 par. 4}

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

There are some thoughts that just strike a person when they read things and tonight I found that while looking for something else. I just never thought of Christ's love from that angle before but it does make sense since He was willing to risk Heaven for us.

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

It seems almost too good to believe that the Father can and does love any member of the human family as He loves His Son. But we have the assurance that He does, and this assurance should bring joy to every heart, awakening the highest reverence and calling forth unspeakable gratitude. God's love is not uncertain and unreal, but a living reality. {HP 58.2}

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

The Lord will no more cast off the humblest, lowliest believer in Jesus than he will demolish his throne. We are accepted in the Beloved. We are members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. {ST, June 6, 1895 par. 4}

First time for me to read this, but it is a wonderful thought.

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"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Ps 16:11

At the birth of Jesus the angel announced, Peace on earth, and good will to men. And now at His first appearance to the disciples after His resurrection, the Saviour addressed them with the blessed words, "Peace be unto you." Jesus is ever ready to speak peace to souls that are burdened with doubts and fears. He waits for us to open the door of the heart to Him, and say, Abide with us. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20. {DA 803.3}

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer. The rest that Christ offers depends upon conditions, but these conditions are plainly specified. They are those with which all can comply. He tells us just how His rest is to be found. {DA 329.1}

Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet. {DA 330.1}

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

How is it that we could, even for a moment, forget these words? I will tell you this very day, God has pulled me and my own out of the fiery pit more times than I can begin to count. For years, prior to knowing Him, He kept us alive and we knew it not. There was a strange mystery attached to how we survived various circumstances prior to a real knowledge of Him. We did not know how it could be. But God, who knows the end from the beginning, ever so gently arranged events surrounding us so that we could finally plainly see Who it was working in our lives. We gave up on our own frail efforts to steady the course. And the moment that happened (June 2000), terror and fear vanished and at last, we could rest our weary heads upon His steady shoulder and know without a doubt, He was there all along.

A thousand ways to provide for us? Could we increase that to a trillion ways? My testimony is that I have evidence of it and praise His holy name that He should take notice of one such as me, and that He would extend His mercy and grace to those of my household while they are yet unbelievers. He has a plan, and in great anticipation, I am couched in His rest, watching and waiting to see just how He will work in their lives to bring about His purposes for them.

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The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The Lord wills not the death of any sinner, but that all should come to repentance....

Amen!

2 Peter 3:9The Lord is....not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.The Saviour died to give we sinners life; however, Genesis 3:3, 4....of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it....lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die...

We sinners, in accepting and believing in the Creator's words of promise, first die to disloyalty toward God, to truly live. There is, as it were, a double innuendo or implication in the Creator's words, Genesis 2:17....of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. -seem to me to parallel with Genesis 3:15....I will put enmity between thee and the woman....-Words addressed to the serpent of enmity toward the woman, include the promises of enmity placed in the woman against the serpent, and his seed; saying, "....between thy seed and her seed". The enmity of the serpent toward God that influenced and prompted Eve to disobey, which she embraced or accepted in her disobedience of God, die, through her accepting the provision of the promise in Genesis 3:15.

Because of sin, all must die; the Penitent sinner repents, or "dies" to self, and it is God's will (His ideal) that they never "know sin" or "fall" to temptation, ever again, but henceforth LOVE, forever.

Any who refuse to repent of sin, declines letting God's words create His love, or fruit of the Spirit, in their soul, has died spiritually, and will indeed perish; forever, except they repent.

Romans 6:3-7....so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Titus 1:1, 2[color=red]....according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began...

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...Jesus...will live through (YOU), giving (YOU) the inspiration of His sanctifying Spirit, imparting to (YOUR) soul a vital transfusion of Himself. Sabbath-School Worker 02-01-96.03 ...as the blood is in the body, and circulate there as a vitalizing power... 7T 189.02

Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be open for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon your Burden Bearer.

Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstances, no distance, can separate us from the Saviour. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, maintain, uphold, and cheer. Greater than the love of a mother for her child is Christ's love for His redeemed. It is our privilege to rest in His love, to say, "I will trust Him; for He gave His life for me."

Human love may change, but Christ's love knows no change. When we cry to Him for help, His hand is stretched out to save.

"The mountains may depart, And the hills be removed; But My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee, Neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, Saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee." Isaiah 54:10, A.R.V. {MH 72.3}

Isa 41:9 [Thou] whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou [art] my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.Isa 41:11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.Isa 41:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.Isa 41:14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, [and] ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

At all times and in all places, in all sorrows and in all afflictions, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone, the Comforter will be sent in answer to the prayer of faith. Circumstances may separate us from every earthly friend; but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always at our right hand to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer. {DA 669.4}

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

We know, or we ought to know, that we are going to be tried. It has to do with character development. If we understand correctly the plan of salvation, it has to do with restoration of God's image in man. Sadly, great deceptions have come into the church so that this is poorly understood. Either it is put off and is just for the final generation or it is denied completely by those who believe they are saved in sin, even the last generation.

The promises and truths being shared in this topic are of vital importance to us all. If we understand that we shall be tried, it goes a long way in helping us to see our need of Jesus continually that we will not bring reproach upon our Savior and lose our peace.

Christ has said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Will you come? Will you comply with the conditions? If we would go to Christ, we could no longer remain in darkness. Those whose minds are bound about with despondency, who have no will-power to direct them in the right, who are not thoughtful and care-taking, would receive fresh light and vigor by communication with Christ. If you allow another to do your thinking for you, you will have crippled energies and contracted abilities. There are many whose intellects are dwarfed because they confine them to dwell upon commonplace subjects. You should wrestle with problems of thought that require the exercise of the best powers of your mind. God will sanctify your thought and ennoble your powers and talents, when you devote them to his service. You will find your talents increasing by exercise. You will double them by serving the Master as you should,--in putting them out to the exchangers. God desires you to be apt, skillful workers. The man who is able to put up a house in a workmanlike manner should be able to exercise his faculties in doing skillful work in the cause of God. The Lord requires us to use our talent to the very best of our ability. When we render him our best service, he will not fail to give us wisdom to do a still better service. We have dwarfed and weakened our capabilities by depending upon others to do our thinking. We have been leaning upon broken reeds, but God does not want us to depend upon others. We should depend wholly upon him. Why do you not go to your Heavenly Father, and make known your wants to him? Jesus has said, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Is not this plain reasoning? Our heavenly Master has chosen words that may be understood by the mind of his simplest child. Why not take this precious promise to hang in the hall of memory? Why not impress upon our minds the things that will be a benefit for us to remember? Why not speak of these precious things in the garden of God's word, instead of talking of our doubts and trials?

Suppose you were in a garden where bloomed beautiful roses, and lilies, and pinks; but instead of gathering the beautiful flowers, you should seek for everything objectionable to take away to show to others as a sample of that garden. Would the objectionable things you had gathered properly represent the garden?--By no means. If Christians gather up gloom and sadness to their souls, and murmur and complain, are they representing God and the Christian life as it really is? Christ tells us that if we abide in him, he will abide in us. Are we doing as he has bidden us? Will we gather the roses and the lilies and the pinks, and present to the world the hopeful, bright side of religion?

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Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Will we gather the roses and the lilies and the pinks, and present to the world the hopeful, bright side of religion?

This question evoked a memory of this little song:

Jesus bids us shineWith a pure, clear light,Like a little candleBurning in the night.In this world of darknessSo let us shineYou in your small corner,And I in mine.

I had two grandfathers whose views and witness of religion were polar opposites. One, a Primitive Baptist; the other, a Seventh-day Adventist. Even as one among many of their grandchildren, we congregated around the joyful, happy one. We saw the love of Jesus in him.

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

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Why not impress upon our minds the things that will be a benefit for us to remember? Why not speak of these precious things in the garden of God's word, instead of talking of our doubts and trials?

This is precisely what the joyful grandfather did and when in 2000 I began reading the Bible, wanting God in my life again, the witness of the joyful grandfather came to mind. What did he have that created in him such confidence, joy and peace? He had a knowledge of Jesus and it was attractive beyond measure.

I do not believe we can calculate the impression upon others a true Christian has. It is unto life eternal when we seek it and take it into our hearts as the genuine article. It proves itself.

Amen!! And that is precisely why this topic is of importance. We all shall be tempted to be discouraged. That is what Satan wants. He does not want the witness of your consecrated grand-father. He wants decoys in the church that when tempted beyond what they can bear, they will bring reproach upon the truth and upon Christ.

But, Jesus has given us a most precious promise. That we shall not be discouraged, we shall not be tempted beyond what we can bear. Then why is it that so many professing to love and serve Jesus are discouraged and tempted beyond what they can bear? If we can answer this question, then we shall be better prepared to finish the race we have begun. Here is the promise. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13. Why does the promise appear to fail when we know that none of God's promises fail? Why are some full of peace and joy when others are tempted beyond what they can bear?

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Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

This is more aimed at your 2nd question than your first. It's easy to sink into discouragement and temptation when your eyes are not focused on Christ. Like Peter when he took his eyes off Christ and momentarily lost sight of Him Peter started to sink.

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}

I am very much paraphrasing but we are told in the SOP that we suffer much because of our willful stubbornness. It's kind of like fighting your Father when He is pulling the sliver out. While it will necessarily involve some pain we can make it much worse than it needs to be. Our greatest battle is from within. We are like a fish being caught. We can swim straight to the boat or we can fight all the way and even needlessly die in our efforts to resist the one who seeking to pull us from the lake of sin.

There are so many object lessons relating to fishing. I used to live to fish especially this time of year when we could walk on water. I still fish but the catch is much larger and the bait much different.

We are told in the SOP that we suffer much because of our willful stubbornness. It's kind of like fighting your Father when He is pulling the sliver out. While it will necessarily involve some pain we can make it much worse than it needs to be. Our greatest battle is from within. We are like a fish being caught. We can swim straight to the boat or we can fight all the way and even needlessly die in our efforts to resist the one who is seeking to pull us from the lake of sin.

There are so many object lessons relating to fishing. I used to live to fish especially this time of year when we could walk on water. I still fish but the catch is much larger and the bait much different.

Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

1Co_10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

2Pe_2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev 21:7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

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By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. {DA 291.1}